cyber battle. the u.s. attorney general vows to fight back against hammers stealing trade secrets. u.s. leaders have to do more to fight hackers. attorney general eric holder says they're stealing information that belongs to american businesses. he pointed the finger at foreign companies and governments. >> this work is a to priority for the obama administration, for the entire administration and the dedicated men and women of the united states department of justice. >> holder said he was concerned about economic espionage and cyber attacks from people in china. he listed several cases in which

chinese nationals were convicted of stealing trade or secrets. president barack obama expressed his worries last week in his state of the union. he said what he called enemies are trying to sabotage the power grid, financial institutions and air traffic control systems. obama signed a new executive order to strengthen cyber defenses. officials said last year that the number of cyber attacks targeting critical infrastructure has risen dramatical dramatically. they reported 198 cases in 2011. only nine two years earlier. japanese and chinese officials have not seen eye to eye over the past few months but two diplomats have found some common ground. they agreed to cooperate on the nuclear program in north korea. shinsuke met in beijing with a special envoy for korean peninsula wu dawei. north korean scientists conducted a nuclear test last

week. he said the test and rocket launch in december cannot be condoned. he asked chinese officials in pyongyang to exercise greater restraint. >> japan has high expectations for china's role because of its close political and economic ties with the north. >> he said that they agreed to improved communication and cooperation. he said the chinese is taking a stern view of north korea's nuclear program. authorities have given a heroes welcome to people that carried out the test.invined scientistsd engineers to the capital. the group is expected to visit

the palace with late leader kim jung-il lies in state. managers have launched a m campaign to stop officials from dining out at public expense. communist party leaders responded with new rules to simplify meetings and slashding. they dismiss suggestions that the campaign could reduce consumer spending. >> translator: expanding consumption doesn't mean giving into extravagance. cutting down in over indulgence won't hurt overall consumption.

>> fewer people are ordering high end alcohol and expensive meals. business at luxury restaurants in beijing have dropped by a third. it's down 20% in shanghai. why the difference in reactions? >> japanese central bankers embarked on bold easing last month. american counter parts have been doing it since after the financial crisis in '08. some are thinking it's time to scale back. they have suggested the federal reserve may need to end or scale back the program sooner than expected. the u.s. federal reserve

released the minutes of its two day policy meeting. they acknowledge the effectiveneeffective ness of the bond program.effect program. some members expressed that further purchasing could lead to inflati inflation. the minutes show many officials suggesting assessment of the purchases may require that the fed slow or end the program before substantial improvement in the labor market has occurred. other members urged caution in withdrawing stimulus to the economy prematurely. the fed policy board is expected to examine the effectiveness of its asset purchasing program more closely after its next meeting in march. housing construction is a key indicator of the health of u.s.

economy. the number of permits for new construction rose for a third straight month. this suggested recovery in the housing market remains on track. department of commerce officials say housing starts last month came to 890,000 units. that's a decline of 8.5% from december. construction of condos and other multifamily tumbled 26%. the drop was enough to offset a rise. housing permits rose 1.8% from december. that's the highest level since june 2008 before the start of the global financial crisis. let's get a check on tokyo markets.

first taking a look at stocks. market sentiment is damaged. the nikkei is trading at 11,423. sources say investors are selling export related issues to take profits after recent gains. moving onto currencies now. the fed minute that hint at scaling back monetary easing has led to dollar buying. the dollar against the yen is being quoted at 93.79 to 82. south korea's kospi is down by a fourth of a percent. australia is trading lower as well down .9 at 5,052.

looks like a bit of negative pressure on asian stocks. japan prime minister is leaving for washington on thursday for talks with u.s. president barack obama. ahead of the bilateral meeting a top u.s. trade official made comments on the free trade deal. this is a topic that abe has placed at the top of the agenda. u.s. trade representative ron kikr says japan should be willing to negotiate all items to join talks on the tpp. his remarks came at an interview with reuters news agency. kirk says the u.s. and other tpp participants have never allowed any country to have certain countries or products protected before talks began.

abe is looking for some assurances from obama. we are seeing tokyo stocks down .4 of a%. i'll leave you with a check at markets. investigators in algeria have been collecting evidence and building a case as they

probe a deadly hostage siege at a gas plant. islamic militants stormed the facility and took hundreds of workers hostage. at least 39 people, including ten japanese, were killed. nhk has learned more about the group responsible. we've obtained video showing the militants training in neighboring mali and issuing bold threats. here is that story. >> reporter: this man is reported to have led the attack. he's known as niger. he phoned media outlets in neighboring area throughout the siege. he is on a video that's believed to have been recorded in northern mali in 2010 or 2011. he and other militants showed their hostility toward western and arab nations.

the people in the media were from different parts of africa. they have various types of weapons from anti-aircraft artillery. security experts say many of the weapons came from libya. they say different groups took the arms across the border after the fall of gadhafi. the video shows the transient life the militants led in the desert.

they moved frequently from one location to another. mokhtar belmokhtar is believed to have been behind the attacks in algeria. they say the group gathered in southern libya and then crossed the border. what's not clear, though, is how the fighters managed to penetrate the military security forces and private guards to take control of the plant. a journalist follows the militant group in northern mali

last year for two weeks. >> translator: they had their way in the desert. they were free. no one bothered them. the algerian attack got their message across. any country could be the next target at any time. >> the man from niger who led the attack died when the algerian military stormed the plant. but the whereabouts of mokhtar are not known, meaning the threat of more terror attacks in the region looms. nhk world. the site of a building collapsed in a disaster that

-- people across the country have been working to get better prepared for the next time disast disaster strikes. >> reporter: on march 11, 2011 a tsunami warping was issued after the earthquake. they kept broadcasting using the public radio system. still tsunami as high as 7.6 meters washed away 15 people. many of the victims returned home believing they faced no further danger but a third bigger wave hit two and a half hours after the quake. it swept them away.

officials want to encourage residents to stay away from the coast until it is safe. now along with a public radio system they will get their message out using digital displays and loud speakers that carry sound twice to three times farther than conventional ones. they will also send the warning directly to schools on the coast. people who took part in the drill heard the alerts loud and clear and fled to higher ground. about 400 participants managed to evacuate within 13 minutes. >> i could hear the alarm well. information for both our eyes and ears. i hope the visual and audio warnings will be effective when a tsunami occurs. >> officials are determined to keep reminding citizens about the dangers of second and third

tsunami, which can be more powerful than the first wave. >> translator: saving lives is our top priority. we would like to continue our efforts towards that end. >> people here know the risk they face living by the ocean. but they also know they can minimize that risk by being better prepared and listening to their local officials in times of crisis. relatives of japanese victims are marking two years since the earthquake. 28 japanese were among the 185 people killed when the quake struck on february 22nd, 2011. about two-thirds died in the

television building where they attended a language school. design flaws were to blame. on wednesday eight people vi visited the site. silence and a minute of prayer were offered. >> translator: i went through a year of sorrow after the quake. in the second year that turned to anger after we found out the cause of the collapse. it's heartbreaking. >> the relatives plan to attend a memorial ceremony held by the school on thursday and another by church on friday.

aircraft manufacturers are always looking for an edge over their competitors. but usually, when they think airliner, they have jets in mind. however, a french-italian company is bucking the trend. as a result it's not just its planes that are soaring. nhk world's virginia pinon explains. >> reporter: airlines have several countries are using this propeller driven aircraft for short trips of around 500 kilometers. atr produces many of the turboprop aircraft. the firm is headquartered in france. recently it sold the plane to an airline from myanmar. it's seen its profits shoot up threefold in the last seven years. last year it netted $1.44 billion, the highest profit ever. >> we expect to have the second aircraft very soon.

with the support of the atr. >> reporter: with fuel costs jumping so high over the past eight years, airlines are buying more turboprops. when they fly 500 kilometers, they arrive only ten minutes later than a jet, but they burn much less fuel. >> we have a product that in terms of fuel consumption is able to provide 50% of the economy in respect of a jet of the same size. >> reporter: when smaller jet passenger planes began appearing in the 1990s, sales of turbo props spiraled on word. jets were faster, quieter, and smoother.

many manufacturers stopped making propeller planes altogether, but atr didn't. even though it went through some lean years, it worked on building better turbo props. the company realized it was just a matter of time before customers appreciated how economical their planes are. two years ago they introduced their latest model. atr updated the plane's look to dispel its old-fashioned image. to achieve this they hired a well-known designer from italy, who won a prize for his work. now the company is looking for customers in asia. last december it opened a training center to teach pilots how to fly their newest planes. as the economy of southeast asia

keeps growing, more people are flying from city to city in the region. atr is training pilots right in asia. the french-italian company hopes it will urge companies to buy its turbo prop planes. a japanese airline that shuttles between regional cities has decided to start using three of the propeller planes. >> at the beginning of the operation in japan with atr, we are confident that we can be successful. >> higher fuel prices are propelling changes to regional

air travel. nhk world, paris. people in norlt north western japan are used to dealing with wintry conditions. this time they're finding themselves under. >> the snowfall has reached record breaking levels. it's already at 502 centimeters which is the record so far this time of year. this is accompanied with gusts of 90 kilometers were hour. both combined are bringing blizzard conditions. the bad news is that the accumulation is going to be some staggering amount in the next 24

hours due to the additional snowfall of another 60 centimeters. another 60 centimeters will likely to bring more record breaking amounts. the winds are very strong. they are picking up the waves as much as four meters high along the coastal regions. storm warnings are hosted widely across the area. the pacific side will be remaining devoid from precipitation and making things clear. it's really dry. the low humidity is about 20%. you'll sill some precipitation over toward the peninsula. some light rain precipitation across the south. nothing slight here. this is very heavy rainmaker.

looks like it will intensify into a tropical storm. the northeasterly winds that are associated with it will be pounding the low grounds with saturated water. any kind of additional rain will be triggering flooding and landslides. it's now moving toward the china peninsu peninsula. these temperatures are really high. this is why the storm is intensifying but out toward the north things are very cool. tokyo just at 7 and 2 for the high. lots happening in the north american continent as well. we have a tornado touchdown in california. it's the same system intensifying as it moves toward the united states bringing snow, really heavy amounts to the north of the system. about 30 centimeters is likely across the central plains down toward the south. severe weather is likely to

ignite. we're talking about large hail, damaging gusts and activity that cannot be ruled out. here across southern quebec, there will be snowfall. los angeles down to 16 degrees. now across the european continue innocent, high pressure covers much of the central regions. we got another atlantic system moving in. it's quite unstable. talking about italy, we have seen magnificent sight. take a look at this video. a volcano erupted on tuesday night. it's the first big eruption of 2013. thankfully the lava did not affect residential areas there was no need for a warning. pulling back showing you temperatures in and across the region. 15 degrees is for your high on thursday.

here is our extended forecast.

and that's all for this edition of "newsline." i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. thanks for joining us.